Camera Foundation
- Lesson6 of 8
- Time45 min
- Safety gateMust be passed
Media handling: cards, offloads and checksums
Outcome
Handle camera media safely from camera to DIT, so no footage is ever lost.
Mapped to 2 ScreenSkills checklist lines
- ScreenSkills second assistant camera / clapper loader skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Pass recorded digital media and supporting information to the DIT"
- ScreenSkills second assistant camera / clapper loader skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Store, label, document and deliver media and rushes to production"
ScreenSkills checklists are guides, not accreditation. This course is not endorsed by ScreenSkills.
Watch
3 films · about 29 minutes
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More like this: DIT and data management path
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One rule above all
- A card is never formatted until the DIT or data wrangler confirms it has been copied to at least two places and the copies verified with checksums. Lost footage can't be reshot cheaply, and sometimes can't be reshot at all.
- This lesson is a gate: a wrong answer on media can lose a day's work.
The chain
- Card out of camera: the 2nd AC (or you, if asked) labels it, logs it on the report, and protects it (case or bag).
- Hand it to the DIT or data wrangler, in person, with the report. Don't leave cards on a cart.
- The DIT offloads with software that makes verified copies (checksums compare the copy with the original). Usually at least two copies on separate drives.
- The card comes back marked as cleared. Each production agrees its own marking, often coloured tape. Only then may it be formatted, in camera, by the AC.
Good habits
- Label every card. Keep used and empty cards apart. Never put an unchecked card back in a camera.
- If you're unsure about a card, stop and ask. Unsure means not cleared.
Check
3 questions drawn from 8 · pass mark 80% · safety-critical questions must be right · 3 attempts in 24 hours · new questions each time
Watch the films to open the check.
Do
Find the media mistake · 15 minutes
Here's a card log from yesterday. Find what went wrong, and write the hand-over note you'd give the DIT with card A005.
How it's marked
- Spots A004 formatted without clearing (critical)
- Spots A002 left on the cart for over 90 minutes
- Hand-over note names the card, camera, time out, slates on it, and any notes
Met or Not yet, with a comment from a trained reviewer. Until accounts open, open the model answer after you submit and mark your own work against it.
Model answer (open after you submit)
A004 was formatted five minutes after coming out, before the DIT had it: footage may be lost. Tell the 2nd AC and DIT at once. A002 sat on the cart for 95 minutes: it should go hand to hand. Note: 'A camera, card A005, out 17:10, slates 61 to 64, report attached, 64/2 circled. Not cleared.'
Reflect
Record
This is everything kept about this lesson. In the pilot it's held by Futures in Film CIC in your account; Screen Sisters CIC sees named records only if you agree. Your data
Moving on doesn't complete a lesson. A lesson is complete when the films are watched, the check is passed and the task is marked Met.